Operation
At eight kilometers in length, the Kirnitzschtal Tramway is the smallest tramway enterprise in Saxony. The line is single track, and has two passing loops, one at the depot and the other between the Forsthaus and Nasser Grund stops. Loops also exist at both termini, to enable the motorcars to run around their trailers.
The line is unusual in that it is mostly "gutter running", a type of track layout once common on rural tramways in Germany. In the case of the Kirnitzschtal Tramway, the track is laid in the southern lane of the road, which is the right hand lane when heading towards the waterfall. Thus trams heading towards Bad Schandau travel against the normal flow of road traffic, requiring heightened attention from both tram and road vehicle drivers. Although the tramcars are double ended, only the doors on the south side are used, as all the stops are on the south side of the road.
Currently the line operates throughout the year. In the winter months it operates every 70 minutes, whilst in the summer months it operates every half hour. Although OVPS is a member of the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe (VVO), that organisation's common fare structure does not apply to the Kirnitzschtal Tramway, reflecting its predominantly tourist nature. The line is paralleled throughout by OVPS bus route 241, which runs from Pirna to Hinterhermsdorf every two hours and accepts VVO fares.
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